Federal investigators seized a cellphone belonging to Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) in connection with their probe into a series of stock trades he made as the coronavirus pandemic began to spread around the country, according to the Los Angeles Times and CBS News. Agents served a search warrant at Burr’s home in the Washington, D.C., area on Wednesday night, and he turned over the device, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the news. The stock trades came shortly after Congress began receiving regular intelligence briefings about the threat of the coronavirus, which has since infected more than 1.3 million people in the U.S. and caused economic havoc. The lawmaker’s office denied any impropriety, and Burr called on the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the reports in late March. Reports emerged days later that the Justice Department was investigating the trades.

Source: Huffington Post May 14, 2020 10:18 UTC